Cigar lighter



Sept. 16 1924.

S. E. GUINN CIGAR LIGHTER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 16. 1923 l I l I I 1 Sept. 16 1924.

S. E. GUINN CIGAR LIGHTER Filed June 16, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f a 1m, 5 .f uw. m y 72 l hi. M Z 0. g M am u W |||I lfll. AWN lm. M W. mm J V/Z. W V( ///l .l 7 W 0 Patented Sept. `16 1924.

SAMUEL E. GUINN, 0F JOHNSON CITY, TENNESSEE.-

ereara LIGHTER.

Application mea xuiie 1e, 1923. seriai No. 645,882.

.To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, SAMUEL E. GUINN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Johnson City, in the county of `Washington and State of Tennessee, have invented certain' new and useful Improvements in Cigar Lighters, of-which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cigar' lighters, comprehending a structure particularly adapted for use with gaseous fuel delivered through a main and adapted to automatically ignite said fuel at a predetermined point when the flame is desired for use, the reverse operation of the parts automatically cutting ofi' the fuel supply.

rThe invention', comrises an ornamental casing or base, throng which a gas supply pipe extends, and beyond which the pipe is adapted to be connected to a suitable main or other appropriate gas supply. A11 igniter easing is removably secured upon the pipe above the base and contains means for producing a spark, and at the same time openf ing the supply of gas to a minute discharge opening located adjacent the spark producing means. The spark producing means 1ncludes pyrophoric material and mechanism for acting upon said material to produce the necessary spark, the mechanism being particularly adapted for operation only in the direction necessary to produce a spark, thereby presenting a fresh surface of the sparking member for operation on the material at each successive action, and avoiding the wear incident to the usual reversal of the sparking disc in setting the latter for operation. l

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

'Fig'. 1 is a broken perspective view illustrating the invention, the igniter casing bei-ng shown closed.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan, the movable section of the igniter casing-being removed.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section at right angles .I to the line of section of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view` with the movable section ofthe igniter casing in partly open relation and approaching the point for the automatic release of the operating arm.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail showing particularlythe fuel control blockwith the gas passages therein for the automatic control of the flow of fuel to the point of ignition.` A

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through the fuel locl.

Thev improved cigar lighter comprises an ornamental base 1, preferably in the form of a hollow casing of any appropriate design, and through which extends the gas pipe 2, which it is to be understood is adapted for connection with the gas supply pipe beyond the base. The gas pipe 2 extends through and above the base and removably supported thereon is an igniter casing 3 including a ixed section 4 and a movable section 5. The bottom of the fixed section 4 is provided with an integral depending pro- Iiection iexteriorly threaded to engage the threaded upper end of the gas pipe 2, whereby the igniter casing 3 is held removably secured in position.

A fuel block 7 is removably secured to the bottom of the igniter casing section 4, Said fuel block being substantially L shaped in plan and having a depending nipple 8 adapted to vpass through an opening in the extension 6, the end of the nipple below the extension receiving a securing nut 9 whereby to fix the'block in place. That portion of the fuel block which extends longitudinally of the ignitercasing ,is formed with a centrally arranged bore 10 adapted to receive a threaded sleeve 11, which is screwed into the bore to the limit of a head 12. The inner end of the sleeve 11 is formed at 18 to present a valve seat, and a valve rod 14 of less diameter than the bore of the sleeve 11, is slidably mounted in said sleeve and provided at one end with a valve disc l5 Ito cooperate with the seat 13. 'lhevalve rod 14 projects beyond the headed end of the sleeve,-

the usual gland nut 16 being employed to prevent leakage. The opposite end of the bore 10 receives a hollow cap 17 in which is housed a spring 18 bearing upon the valve disc 15 and encircling the forward projecting portion of the valve rod 14. Thus the valve is normally seated and the gas passage 19 formed in the sleeve 11 vabout the valve rod -is normally closed. The nipple 8-is formed with a gaspassage 20, which at the lower end is open to the gas pipe 2, and at the upper end to the bore 10 in advance of the sleeve 11, that is, forwardly of the valve. The block near the rear end of the bore 10 is formed with a vertical gas passage 21, which communicates with the gas passage 19 through an opening 22 in .thesleeve 1 1, and the assage 21 communicatin at its upper end) with a forwardly extending passa e 23, and said passage 23 at its forward emgl communicates with a lateral passage 24 in the offset ortion of the block. The passa e 24 which extends entirely throu h this o set portion is closed b a removab e plug 25 and is formed wit minutegas outlet 26 extending through the upper surface of the'block. The flow o f gas through the fuel block is thus automatically controlled by the valve 15, while said flow is also designed to be manually controlled through a threaded valve member 27 operat ing at the juncture of passages 21 and 23, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

The spark producing means is arranged immediately in advance of and substantially on a plane with the gas outlet or jet 26. This spark producing means includes a tube 128 removably secured in the bottom of the igniter casing section 4 and extending below the same toward the base. The material in this tube is adapted to be acted upon by an abrading or roughened disc 29 for producing the necessary sparks for the ignition of the gas. The disc is adapted to be automatically operated during the opening of the movable section 5 of the igniter casin to thereby act upon the pyrophoric materia to produce the necessary spark. It is desirable in this class of device that the action of the disc on the pyrophoric material be\sui'u`ciently abrading to insure spark production, and as the movement of the disc is at best a limited one, it is important that the contacting between the disc and material be in the best possible condition at all times. In similar devices, the abrading disc is simply rocked back and forth at each successive o eration, so that the material is acted upon y the same disc surface at all times. It is one of the objects of the present invention to operate the disc only in that movement necessary to produce the spark, without a return or reverse movement of the disc. In this way, a new surface of the disc is resented for action'on the material at eac successive operation, and the effectiveness of the spark producing means is thereby materially increased.

' To secure this result, the mechanism for operating the spark producing disc is as follows: Independent non-circular shaft sections 30, 31, are mounted for rotation upon a pin shaft 32, supported in the side walls of the ixed section 4 of the igniter casing. The spark producing disc 29 is secured u on one of 4these shaft sections as 30, and a c utch member 33 is also secured upon this shaft section 30 with the clutch teeth on that face thereof remote from the spark producing disc. A cooperating clutch mema comparatively ber 34 is slidably mounted upon the other shaft section 31, but held against independent rotation on said section, the teeth on the clutch members 33 and 34 cooperating to secure the shaft sections together in rotation of the clutch member 34 in one direction and to permit the shaft sections to be free of each other in rotation in the opposite direction. An operating member 35 is secured upon the shaft section 31, this member 35 being extended in the form of an arm 36, which projects forwardly over the edge of the fixed section 4 of the igniter casing and through a slot 37 in the corresponding wall of the movable section 5 of such casing when the sections are closed. A

.spring 38 coiled about the shaft section 31 and bearing between the member 35 and.

clutch member 34 serves to influence the latter toward the cooperating clutch member 33. 'lhe member 35 is provided with a projecting pin 39 to which one end of` spring 40 is connected, the opposite end being connected to a remote part of section 4 and serving to hold the arm 36 in normal position, that is, upon the edge of the wall of the section 4. It is preferred that the forward wall of the section 4 be formed with a boss 41 to receive a hardened pin 42 to take care of the impact of the arm 36 and avoid undue wear. l',

The movable section 5 of the igniter casing is pivotally supported upon a transverse pivot 43, one of the pivot ears of said section 5 bein formed with a series of teeth 44 concentric with the pivot. A valve operating shaft 45 is supported in the section 4 below the pivot 43 and is provided with a pinion 46 to mesh with the teeth 44, so that upon swinging the section 5; the shaft 45 is correspondingly rotated. The shaft 45 is in alignment with the end of the valve vrod 14 and within the section 5 the shaft 45 is enlarged to form a valve operating member 47, which is circular in section except for a portion which is interrupted or fiattened at 48. The rela-tion of the valve operating means and valve is such that when the interrupted face 48 is in line with the valve rod, the spring 18 operates to cut oif the gas supply to the jet 26, while in any other position the circular surface of the member 47 will hold the valve open, to permit the flow of gas to the jet to the extent permitted by the manually adjustable valve 27. The pivotal relation of the section 5 to the shaft 45 is such that when the section 5 is in closed relation to the section 4, the interrupted portion 48 of the member 47 is opposite the valve rod and the Valve is closed. Throughout the fullopen position of the section 5 however, the rounded portion of the member 47 will obviously be opposite the valve and the valve held open. Therefore, as the section 5 starts to open Vat and has reached a predetermined point inI formed as a hook 51 to underlie the project' ing portion of the arm 36. The hook 49 is free to swing in one direction on the pivot 50 and limited in the opposite swing, which is toward an operative relation with the arm 36, lby a pin 52 projecting from the forward wall of the section 5. The section 5 is provided with an operating handle 53, whereby it may be swung on its pivot and normally returned to closed position when free to move by a spring 54.

Obviously as the section 5 is swung on its pivot by means of the handle 53, the hook 51 will engage the projecting end of the arm 36 and move said arm upwardly against the tension of the spring 40. During this movement of the section 5, the gas valve control member 47 is gradually moved to open said valve, to permit gas to flow through the jet 26. Owing to the different centers of movement of the arm 36 and section 5, the hook 51 will gradually ride off the arm as the section 5 is farther open, permitting ksaid arm to snap back to normal position through the pull of the spring 40. As the army 36 is moved upwardly through engagement by the hook, the shaft section 31 is turned and the clutch member 34 rides past or slips over the cooperating clutch member 33 without moving the latter, and therefore without moving the sparking disc 29. As the arm 36 is freed however and snaps back to normal position, the clutch members cooperate, the sparking disc 29 is moved rapidly for a short distance acting upon the abrading material in the tube 28 to produce a spark and to direct this spark toward the gas jet 26, igniting the gas and presenting 'an upstanding flame for lighting purposes.

Thus it will be seen that the sparking disc 29 is only moved in the sparking direction, so that at each operation a fresh surface of the disc is presented to the material, insuring a more effective sparking and preventing undue wear of the disc. l

The abrading material, here indicated at 55, in supported under upward pressure in the tube 28, and must-of course be renewed ,from time to time. To secure this pressure and permit the renewal, I provide a material supporting means including a plunger 56 supported in a tube 57 fixed in the base 1 and projecting at theyupper end somewhat above the base. The plunger 56 is pressed in the upward direction by a spring 58 between the lower end' of said plunger and the tube, and is provided at its upper end with a rod 59 normally seating in the material tube 28 to hold the material against the disc 29 with the desired pressure. The lplunger may be moved downwardly to withdraw the rod 5.9 from the tube 28 by an operating or finger rod 60, which extends through an opening 61 in the base and Ihas a lateral portion 62 at the lower end which extends through a slot 63 in the tube 57 and is'connected to the plunger, as clearly` shown in Fig. 4. The tube 57 immediately above the base is formed with va slot 64 and lookin tongue 65 is pivotally supported on the ase in position to enter the slot 64. On depression of the finger rod 60, the plunger 56 whichis of greater diameterfthan the rod 59, is forced ldownwardly until its upper end is below the slot 64, whereupon the tongue65 is moved into .the slot to overlie the shoulder formed by the upper end of the plunger 56, thereby holding the upper end of the rod 59 sufficiently below the lower end of the tube 28 to permit the insertion of fresh material. The return of the parts to support and exert the necessary pressure on the material is obvious.

It will be noted that after the ignition of the gas at the jet 26, the flame will be maintained as long as the casing section 5 is held open, but that upon release of the handle 53, the section 5 moves to closed position, cutting `off the supply of gas-to the flame by movement of the valve. In

this closing movement of the section 5, the

hook 49 on contacting with the projecting portion of the arm 36, swings out of the path of said arm and returns to operative position below the arm Claims: 1. A cigar lighter, comprising a fuel pipe, an igniter casing carried thereby and including an operating section, a fuel block arranged within the casing and formed with by gravity.

a gas passage to establish communication ated in such predetermined movement of the operating section to open the valve prior to the release of the automatic operating means for the igniter disc.

. 2. A. cigar lighter, including a fuel pipe,

an igniter casin carried thereby and includin a' movab e section, a fuelopening `in 'sai casing, spark producing means arranged adjacent said opening and including a sparking disc, a member adapted for clutch cooperationy with the dlsc 1n movement of the member in one direction, means for operatingthe member in suchdirection, and means operative in the opening movement of the movable section of the igniter casing lfor compelling a limited movement of the member in an opposite direction without affecting 'movement' of the sparking disc, said latter means releasing the member to the influence of its operating means to automatically actuate the disc during the l opening movement of the movable section 3. A cigar lighter, including a fuel plpe, an igniter casing carried thereby and including a movablesection, a fuel opening in said casing, a sparking means arranged adjacent said opening and including a shaft vsection and a sparking disc mounted on such section, a second shaft section, a clutch member slidable on the second shaft section and adapted to cooperate with the sparking disc in movement of said second shaft section in one direction, an arm secured on said second shaft section, a spring for operating the arm in a direction to cause clutching cooperation of said clutch member and sparking disc, and means on the movable section of the igniter casing to move said arm a limited distance 4against the tension of said spring, whereby the igniter disc remains stationary except 1n actual sparking operation to thereby present a fresh surface of said disc for sparking at each successive operation.

4. A cigar lighter, comprising a fuel pipe, an igniter casing carried thereby and including a pivotally mounted section, a fuel block Y arranged in said casing and formed with a fuel passage to establlshl communication between said fuel pipe,and a jet opening in the block, a valve controlling said passage, a shaft mounted in the igniter casing and operated in the pivotal movement of the opening section thereof, said shaft within the casing being lprovided with a cylindrical portion interrupted for a portion of its length to provide a flattened portion, said cylindrical portion cooperating with the valve to maintain the same in open position, and means to close the valve when the flattened portion is in line with the valve.

5.' A cigar lighter, comprising a gas pipe, an ignitercasing carriedthereby and including a movable section having ears pivotally connected to the fixed section, a fuel blockcarried bythe casing and formed with a fuel passage to establish communication between burner in sai e and a jet opening in said block,

.spark pro mg adgacent said jet opening, a shaft mounted in the casing and formed with a cylindrical portion and with a attened face, a pinion secured on said shaft be ond the casing, one of the ears of the mova le sectionbeing formed with teethy to engage andv operate sald pinion in the actuation of said movable section, and a spring pressed valve for controlling the fuel passage in the fuel block, said valve being held open by the cylindrical portion of said shaft and permitted to close when the lflattened 4face of said shaft is in line with thevalve.

6. A cigar lighter,- including an igniter casing 'havin a ymovable section, a fuel casing, a sparking means for lighting said burner, said sparking means including independent shaft sections, a s arking disc fixed onone shaft section, a c utch member and operating arm fixed on the other shaft section, said clutch member cohaving a movable section, means for directv ing fuel to an ignition-'point within the'cas lng, sparking means for said fuel arranged within .the casing and automatically oper- .ated to produce a spark, said means being set for automatic operation by and in the operation of the movable section of the cas-V ing, said sparking means including a tubular holder for the sparking material, a spring pressed plunger supported in the tubular guide arranged below and in alignment with said'tubular holder, a rod projecting from said plunger and adapted. to seat` in said tubular holder to exert pressure upon the material therein, a locking tongue mounted adjacentethe guide and adapted to pass through a slot in said guide, the juncture of the plunger and rod forming a shoulder to be held beneath said tongue when the tongue is positioned in the slot in the guide, to thereby hold the plunger withdrawn to permit insertion of fresh material, inthe tubular holder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

SAMUEL E. GUINN.

ioo 

